I managed to make it back from one of my bucket list exhausted but alive. While it wasn’t quite what I expected, due in part to the heavy snow this year, I did have a great time sharing the experience with Larry Ludwig and his wife Noelann who are members of HBP.   When I entered a horseback fishing trip on my bucket list, I really wasn’t thinking of riding a horse on the edge of a cliff on a path that would be difficult for a mountain goat to navigate. While the attached pics may seem somewhat manageable, I just didn’t have the nerve to take pics of some of the areas where a slight mishap would have resulted in hoping to be able to recover my body. This trip was not for the timid, actually it wasn’t even for those who like the E ticket rides. Enough about my near death experience.

Because of the heavy snow we were not able to get to the areas where the golden trout are abundant. We topped off at 10,000 feet and fished some small stream that while clear and fishable, they seemed to lack much of a fish population. The highlight of fishing was at Clark Lake one where brook trout was abundant and hungry. The wind was up the first day yet everyone caught lots of these beautiful fish. They were all in the 8 to 10 inch range and we were using three weight rods. The second day half of the group went for a ride while the rest of us fished the lake again. This was a good decision as one of those who went on the ride ended up in the Emergency room at Mammoth lake Hospital with a broken wrist after a horse was spooked by a hiker.

I wanted to give my Tenkara a real test as it seemed perfect for these little but hardy Brook Trout. The fishing was sight fishing and I landed around 14 fish in the first hour. Casting and handling of the Tenkara rod came very quickly. Even when the wind picked up I was able to put the fly on the fish far quicker than those fishing with the standard fly rod. The simplicity of Tenkara allows you to change direction and place the fly under low hanging brush easily without much practice. Imagine being on a stream and with one quick movement being able to place a fly anywhere in front of you when there is nothing but high willows directly behind you a few feet from where you are standing. I was literally able to place a fly under the brush 90 degrees to my left and then put it 90 degrees to my right along the edge of the brush in a single movement. When others were waiting for the gusts to die down I continued to cast without a problem by casting sideway close to the water. The long 12’ rod also allowed me to fish over brush that was impossible to with a standard rod and also slide a fly under the overhang along the shore. All in all, I plan on using this rod more up at the club. If there is enough interest from the membership, I will try to arrange a clinic where the Daniel Galhardo the owner of Tenkara USA http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=86 (check out this video) will come give a clinic at the club. The Tenkara is definitely a tool that will not only improve your success. It is tool that will allow you to realize the simplicity and serenity of catching a fish on a fly.

Fly fishing is more than catching fish. It’s a time to share some quality time with friends. Before sitting down for lunch along the lake, I wandered over to one of the other members of the trip and invited him to sit down for lunch. It’s a great time to share fishing experiences and also learn what other have used successfully. Having one of our HBP Reserve Churchill cigars seemed appropriate. It was a beautiful afternoon and sitting in the sun enjoying the surroundings was very relaxing. We chatted for an hour or so and developed what we hope will be a long term relationship

So while I enjoyed the experience, I am looking forward to getting back up to the club to spend some time fishing and not worrying about surviving.

Tom